Lentil Stuffed Red Cabbage Rolls

Red cabbage rolls stuffed with a flavorful mixture of onions, lentils, brown rice, and Italian seasonings. This is one of our favorite healthy inexpensive dinners! Tastes just like grandmas but without the meat! Dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan.

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MMmmMmm cabbage rolls, a classic recipe that my family loves! Except, I’ve changed it up a bit and made it vegetarian, with a few shortcuts.

I bet you’ve never seen red cabbage rolls before! Usually, they’re made with green cabbage. Why I don’t know. If you know why please tell me! Purple cabbage is so good for you! Any fruits or vegetables that are bright purple, are loaded with antioxidants. I make the swap anytime I can.

Lentil Stuffed Red Cabbage Rolls

I do remember my grandpa, Poppy, talking about Golumpkis (pronounced goy-yump-kees), so that’s what I wanted to recreate and put my own spin on it.

Can I Use Something Instead Of Lentils?

I always use lentils in this recipe because they have a meat-like texture but you could try substituting beans, crumbled tofu, or quinoa if you don’t care for lentils.

I’m not a full-time vegan —-yet, but I do make a lot of vegan meals because they’re affordable and really healthy for you. Especially by using lentils, you can substitute them for meat in so many recipes!

The texture and taste is very similar to beans, but with a meat-like flavor. I make lots of soups, salads, and pasta dishes with lentils. I’ve even mashed them up and made lentil burgers, they’re inexpensive, versatile, and full of protein!

You know what I always wondered? Why do they call cabbage that’s purple, red cabbage?

Do You Have To Bake The Cabbage Rolls?

I baked the cabbage rolls in a casserole dish in the oven because I think that’s the easiest method, but you can also make them in a dutch oven or braiser pan on the stove top too. You guys know how much I love my ceramic cast iron pans, they can do anything!

To keep the delicate cabbage leaves from sticking to the bottom of the dutch oven and burning, use 2-3 cabbage leaves to line the bottom of the pot! It acts as a barrier between the golumpki and the hot pan. You definitely don’t want to have to stand over the pot, constantly moving them to make sure they don’t stick.

How to Assemble A Cabbage Roll

Use the larger outer leaves first, the smaller inner leaves will be harder to roll and keep together.

I like to cut 1 inch off the base of the stem from the larger leaves, sometimes they can be tough.

Add the filling to the center of the roll, fold over both sides, then fold the bottom up and start rolling.

Place seam side down into the casserole dish.

Do your best to roll the cabbage rolls up pretty tight to keep the filling in. If the leaf tears or some filling falls out one side, it’s okay, don’t panic. Just tuck the ends in the best you can, and place them in the casserole dish. When it’s baking, everything magically melds together, and it holds together very well when you take it out of the dish.

What Should You Serve With The Cabbage Rolls?

I served the cabbage rolls with brown rice on the side, but it would also be delicious with multicolored quinoa, wheat berries, mashed potatoes, or pasta. Two cabbage rolls is plenty for me for dinner, and Travis had three, so this dish lasted us for two meals. Yeah! Cook once, eat twice!

Not to mention, this is a very affordable meal option if you’re on a budget, like us. Everything I used was organic, and it only cost around $8 for two people to eat for two days.

Cook lentils and brown rice (separately) according to package directions, set aside.

Using a sharp knife, cut out and remove the stem from the bottom of the cabbage head.

In a large stock pot, boil the water and season it with sea salt. Add the whole cabbage head to the water and let it boil for 5 minutes or until the outer leaf starts to pull away from the head. Using tongs, carefully remove the outer leaves until you have 10-12 large leaves. Let them cool on a plate. Cut out one inch of the thick rib from the base of each leaf.

Sauté the diced onion in olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat for 10-12 minutes.

Add the cooked lentils and rice, Italian seasonings, tomato paste, minced garlic, salt, and pepper to the pan with the onions. Stir. Let the mixture cook for 4-5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread ½ cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish.

Spoon ⅓ cup of filling into each cabbage leaf. Fold the sides in, and then roll the bottom over. Place seam side down in the casserole dish.

Pour the remaining sauce over the top.

Cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour. Serve immediately.

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Do you have any favorite family recipes that were passed down from your grandparents? Please share them with me in the comments!

Comments

These photos are lovely! I love that you made your cabbage rolls with purple cabbage – what a great color boost! My mother-in-law just shared her traditional old family favorite cabbage rolls recipe with me last year – and I have to say that stuffing them with lentils sounds terrific! Thanks for sharing!

Hi Stacey, these cabbage rolls are beautiful! i love the purple cabbage color with the tomato sauce red. My daughter has been asking for my rice stuffed cabbage rolls and I think you have inspired me to make it for her soon!
kris

Hi, Dora! The foil helps to keep the steam in and stops the cabbage rolls from drying out. I don’t use foil often, only when I think it’s really necessary. You could try laying un-waxed parchment paper over the top of the dish but the rolls still might dry out. Let me know what you end up doing! =)

Hi there! I made this last night and we really enjoyed it. I did just use plain quinoa (just what we happened to have on-hand and I’m trying to use it up!). It turned out very tasty, but I’m looking forward to trying it again with lentils to see how that changes the appearance and texture. I would say that 1 cup of dry quinoa yielded a bit too much cooked quinoa… I used most, but kept out about 3/4 of a cup because I was worried the quinoa would completely take over the filling! Now I’m looking forward to our next CSA delivery of cabbage, whereas I used to dread it! Thanks for the great recipe and advice! 🙂